Winona Ryder is a very good actress.
Unfortunately, she has not been able to build a career that would make
her a genuine star. Her talent is evident even in mis-fires like
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, in which she plays town misfit Dinky
Bossetti. Ryder had a tough time in school, where she was often the
target of bullies. Perhaps this biographical detail explains why she was
so real when she played troubled teenagers.

Roxy Carmichael has some clever writing, such as when Dinky tells
a pig not to be a cliché after the pig tries to eat another animal’s
food after he hated his own. There is also a really good scene involving
Jeff Daniels’s wife leaving him. Although aimed at mainstream audiences,
the script is a series of character moments rather than a “plot” story.

However, the final product doesn’t really work, in part because the
premise is rather lame. A small town in Ohio is gearing up to welcome
the return of a prodigal daughter, and Dinky thinks that Roxy Carmichael
is her real mom. That such a smart character would delude herself in
such a way strains credulity. Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels sell their
parts convincingly, but they can’t overcome the limitations imposed on
them by a director and a writer who didn’t map out character arcs.